Turning station for loop driers



1954 H. P. SNEDAKER ETAL 2,593,954

TURNING STATION FOR LOOP DRIERS Filed Feb. 17, 1954 United States Patent TURNING STATION FOR LOOP DRIERS Harry P. Snedaker, Glenside, and Jack P. Wilson, Wynnewood, Pa., assignors to Proctor & Schwartz, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 17, 1954, Serial N 0. 410,856 3 Claims. (Cl. 271 2.2

. The present invention relates to an improved turning station for the girts of a loop or festoon dryer.

In the drying of textile fabrics and like materials in a loop dryer, the material is looped over a series of girts which travel through the drying chamber on endless chains. In order to prevent the marking of the material by the girts, it is desirable to turn the girts at intervals during their travel to cause successive portions of the fabric to rest on the girts. The conventional apparatus for effecting the rotation of the girts comprises a star wheel which engages against a pin fixed adjacent the track for supporting the girts and the conveyor chain during their travel through the drying chamber. In order to afford rotation of the star wheel by the pin, the track must be cut away adjacent the pin. As a result, it is impractical to change the locations of the turning stations after the dryer has been fabricated. With the many difi'erent types of fabrics now being treated, the standard loop dryers having permanently located turning stations are not entirely satisfactory for all types of fabric.

With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a loop dryer in which the turning stations may be located in accordance with the requirements of the material being dried.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a turning station for loop dryer girts which is operative at any location along the track for supporting the girts.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for preventing inadvertent rotation of the girts during their travel from one turning station to the next.

More specifically, the invention contemplates apparatus which operates automatically upon travel of the girt past a turning station to elevate the girt clear of the track, and at the same time to effect rotation of the girt a given angular distance. I,

These and other objects of the invention and the details of the construction and operation thereof are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view through a loop dryer made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the operation of a turning station made in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the loop dryer comprises a chamber 1 in which a conveyor 2 supports and conveys a series of girts 3. The material to be dried is looped over the girts at one end of the chamber 1 and is withdrawn at the other end. The girts are individually mounted for rotation on the conveyor 2 which comprises a pair of side chains 5 having a plurality of links 6 which are supported for longitudinal travel through the chamber on a side rail or track 7 by means of rollers 8. As shown in Fig. 2,'the track is mounted on a longitudinally-extending structural member 9 of the dryer chamber 1.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the girts 3 are generally cylindrical in form and terminate at each end in a portion having a cross-sectional shape providing a plurality of projecting radial lobes 11, for example as shown in Fig. 4. Each girt has mounted in each of its ends a stub Shaft 12 having a plurality of flat surfaces disposed cir- 2 cumferentially thereabout and an axially projecting trunnion 14 which is journalled for rotation in slots 13 in the conveyor links 6. The slots 13 are inclined upwardly and rearwardly or the conveyor, as more fully described hereinafter.

Rotation of the girt during its longitudinal travel through the chamber normally is prevented by means of an angular spring member 21 which has one leg 22 secured to the inner link 6 of the chain adjacent the lower forward extremity of the slot 15 and another leg 23 extending rearwardly into engagement with the shaft. The trunnion 14 or' the girt normally seats in the lower forward end of the slot 15 and the spring is so positioned that the forward or "stop leg 22 or the spring normally engages fiush against the leading surface of the stub shaft 12. "the other leg 23 engages the upper surface of the shaft to resiliently bias the latter to its forward lower limit position and prevent inadvertent rotation of the girt during longitudinal travel of the latter in the drying chamber.

in accordance with the invention, means is provided to cause rotation of the girts at preselected stations along the conveyor. At each station, an angle bracket 15 is secured to the structural member and supports an actuator member 16 thereon. the actuator member 16 is positioned to pro ect upwardly into the path of travel of lobes 11 during the longitudinal movement of the girts 3 along the track 7.

Vertical ad ustment of the member 16 on the bracket is provided by a bolt 18 which is seated in an elongated vertical slot 17 in the outwardly projecting arm or the bracket. To reduce the wear on the girt and to render the turning operation substantially noiseless, the bar 16 is preferably composed of a non-metallic substance, such as, for example, a molded phenolic resin.

in the operation of the present invention, upon the longitudinal travel or the girt into each turning station, the lobe 11 of the girt engages against the member 16, which displaces the trunnion l4 angularly upward from its lower limit position in the rearwardly inclined slot 13 against the bias or the spring leg 23. The rearward displacement of the trunnion disengages the stub shaft 12 from the stop leg 22 a distance sutficient to permit the shaft to rotate on the trunnion 1 1 Upon continued longitudinal movement of the girt, the rod 16 bears against the lobe 11 to displace it angularly about the trunnion a given distance, in the present instance, ninety degrees. The angular movement of the girt causes it to ride over the member 16. When the girt has passed over the rod 16, the trunnion falls to its lower limit position in the slot 13 under the bias of the spring leg 23 and the leading surface of the stub shaft seats against the leg 22 of the spring 21 to prevent further rotation of the girt until it reaches the next turning station.

By the present construction of the turning station, it is possible to change its location along the track 7 by a simple mechanical adjustment. To this end, the structural member 9 for supporting the track, defines a channel 24 in which is located the enlarged head 25 of a bolt 26 for securing the angle bracket 15 thereto. Thus, by simply loosening the nut on the bolt 26, it is possible to shift the angle member to any desired position along the structural member 9. In addition to providing longitudinal adjustment of the turning station, the invention affords vertical adjustment of the member 16 relative to the angle bracket 15 tocompensate for wear. As clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, this adjustment is alforded by the vertical slot 17 and the bolt 18. ,The upper extremity of the bar 16 normally is positioned below the level of the slot 13 as disclosed in Fig. 4 to prevent undue strain on the bar and the lobes 11 during the turning operation.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it is not intended ,to limit the invention to such disclosure, and changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having their opposite ends slidably received in said longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the forward ends thereof, stop means mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and engaged by the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, projecting means on each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of said projecting means on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the girts rearwardly in said slots clear of said stop means and simultaneously rotate the gm.

2. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the forward ends thereof, stop means mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and engaged by the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said stop means and simultaneously rotate the girt.

3. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned rearwardly inclined longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said inclined longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the lower forward ends thereof, stop means mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and engaged by the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said stop means and simultaneously rotate the girt.

4. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the forward ends thereof, said trunnions terminating adjacent said slots in an enlarged shaft portion having a plurality of flat surfaces disposed circumferentially thereabout, a member mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and having a fiat surface engaged by a flatsurface of the shaft portion of the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said member and simultaneously rotate the girt.

5. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned rearwardly inclined longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said inclined longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the lower forward ends thereof, said trunnions terminating adjacent said slots in an enlarged shaft portion having a plurality of fiat surfaces disposed circumferentially thereabout, a member mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and having a fiat surface engaged by a surface of the shaft portion of the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said member and simultaneously rotate the girt.

6. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned rearwardly inclined longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, track means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said inclined longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the lower forward ends thereof, said trunnions terminating adjacent said slots in an enlarged shaft portion having a plurality of fiat surfaces disposed circumferentially thereabout, a member mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and having a flat surface engaged by a surface of the shaft portion of the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circnmferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted and selectively positionable at any point along the track in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said member and simultaneously rotate the girt.

7. In a loop dryer, an endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned rearwardly inclined longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, track means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said inclined longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the lower forward ends thereof, said trunnions terminating adjacent said slots in an enlarged square shaft portion, a member mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and having a fiat surface engaged by the square shaft portion of the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and a nonmetallic actuator rod fixedly mounted and selectively positionable at any point along the track in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said member and simultaneously rotate the girt.

8. In a loop dryer, and endless conveyor comprising spaced parallel side chains having transversely aligned longitudinal slots at predetermined intervals therein, means mounting said chains for forward longitudinal movement in said dryer, a series of girts intermediate said chains each having endwise projecting trunnions slidably received in said longitudinal slots and normally disposed at the forward ends thereof, said trunnions terminating adjacent said slots in an enlarged shaft portion having a plurality of flat surfaces disposed circumferentially thereabout, a spring member mounted on said chains adjacent the forward end of each slot and having a flat surface engaged by a flat surface of the shaft portion of the girt in its normal position in the slots to prevent rotation of the girt, and an extension extending rearwardly into engagement with another surface of said shaft portion to resiliently bias the latter into its normal position in the slots, a plurality of projecting lobes arranged circumferentially of each girt adjacent at least one end thereof, and an actuator member fixedly mounted in the path of travel of one of the lobes on each girt and operable upon engagement thereby to displace the trunnions rearwardly in said slots clear of said member against the bias of said extension and simultaneously rotate the girt.

No references cited. 

